Issue Position: Better Schools

Issue Position

As a parent of three, I believe we have to give voices to our children who are unfairly burdening the most from state budget cuts.

That's why my two daughters Reina and Iliana Bonta are plaintiffs with other families along with the State PTA, California's School Boards and School Administrators in the Robles Wong vs. California lawsuit, which challenges the state of California's public school finance system.

Education is a fundamental right of every child in California. While California has set clear requirements for what schools are expected to teach and what students are expected to learn, the state refuses to provide them to tools to do so.

Our lawsuit asks the state to remedy this problem and to ensure that children in the East Bay and throughout the state receive the financing they need to meet the standards of a high quality education.

I am a product of California's public schools, and was able to attend Yale College, Oxford University, and Yale Law School. I had a dream to go to the best universities in the world and I was able to realize that dream because of the strength of California's public schools.

I worry that my children and their generation will not be able to fulfill the same dream. I have seen firsthand increased class sizes, fewer instructional days, teacher layoffs, programmatic cuts, and the shortage of basic supplies in the classroom. California has gone from being one of the top 10 states in the country in per pupil funding to one of the bottom ten states.

As a member of the Assembly, I will continue this bold action to force the state to fully fund what its Constitution says is a fundamental right of children.

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